Ask Sam letter

Hello,

Sexual assault is when someone intentionally touches you in a sexual way without your consent. Rape is when someone forces you to have sex without your consent. Both of these are wrong, no matter what the situation is.

Being drunk can make you vulnerable and people could take advantage of you more easily than if you were sober. Consent is when you want to do something and say 'yes' to it happening. No one can give proper consent when they’re drunk. Sexual assault can happen to boys and girls, and an abuser can be male or female. They could also be the same sex as you.

You think that you may have been sexually assaulted, so talking to someone about this would help you to think about the next steps to take. Talking to someone can help you decide if you and your friend want to report what happened to the police. Find out more about asking an adult for help.

This is a difficult step and it can take time to reach a decision about what to do next. You’re the only one that can make that decision but there are people that can support you along the way. The Rape Crisis website has information about reporting sexual assault to the police.

Even if you don’t think you have any evidence of what happened, it’s still important that you tell someone so that you can be tested for STI’s and get emergency contraception if you’re female.

It’s important that you and your friends can feel safe when you’re out and thinking about what you could do to stay in control and have fun at the same time might be helpful for the future.

This is something that we could help you with, and you can always talk to a Childline counsellor, or you could look at the ChildLine message boards to read what other young people say in similar situations.

You’ve done the right thing in talking about what has happened.

Take care,
Sam